


Feelings

by The_Marauder_Named_Prongs



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-14
Updated: 2013-01-14
Packaged: 2017-11-25 10:42:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/638052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Marauder_Named_Prongs/pseuds/The_Marauder_Named_Prongs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James has big news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feelings

Remus was sitting on the loveseat in living room of the flat he shared with Sirius looking over a rather large scroll of parchment given to him for study as an assignment for the Order. Beside him, he had a Muggle pad of paper and an ink pen that he used occasionally to scribble runes or notes. He had made it through perhaps a quarter of the scroll when a loud whoosh sounded from his fireplace. He looked up suddenly from his work as the fireplace across the living room burst into green flames. There were only a few people connected to Remus and Sirius’ Floo network, so it was no surprise to see James Potter’s head floating in the emerald fire.

“Hey, Moony,” James said, looking about the room hastily. “Is Sirius around?”

Remus shook his head. “I believe he’s down at the pub.”

“Yeah, okay,” James replied. His floating head turned as if he were looking behind him. “Do you know if he has his mirror on him?”

Shrugging, Remus responded. “I assume so, but I don’t really know for sure. He usually keeps it with him.”

“Okay. I’ll try him on that.”

James’ head disappeared as quickly as it had come, and the emerald flames died, leaving a curiously confused Remus Lupin alone in his living room once more.

* * *

“Sirius Black!”

Sirius jumped at the unexpected call of his name. He looked around the pub a few times, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. He saw no one looking in his direction, nor was there anyone around who he recognized. With a mildly baffled shrug, he settled back down on his stool at the bar and returned to his bottle of beer.

“Sirius Black!”

The shout came again, louder this time. Again, Sirius jumped from his seat, scanning each and every face in the pub. He felt as though someone was having a go at him, though he couldn’t begin to fathom who here would know his name.

“In your pocket!” shouted the same voice, which now sounded acutely familiar.

Sirius scooped his beer from the countertop and hurried for the entrance of the pub, smacking his free hand to his forehead for his foolishness. When he reached the street, he turned down the small and narrow alley next to the building, pulling the Two-Way mirror from his pocket. He looked into it, finding the face of a thoroughly aggravated James Potter staring back at him.

“James?”

“Of course, it’s James, you wanker! What took you so long?”

“I’m at the pub, mate,” Sirius replied, refusing to admit his lapse of memory and flustered confusion to James. “It’s a Muggle pub.”

James nodded. “I need to talk to you,” he said. The look on his face and the sound of his voice left no room for debate. Sirius agreed with a short nod. “Where can we meet up, Padfoot. It’s… rather private.”

“Remus is at home,” Sirius said, his breath fogging over the glass of the mirror in the cold. “But I could ask him to leave if it’s not something you want to discuss in front of him.”

James shook his head impatiently. “I’ve just Flooed there looking for you. He looked busy. Working on something for the Order, I expect.”

“I could meet you at the Shack if you like,” Sirius supplied thoughtfully. He really had no other ideas and his brain wasn’t working at full capacity at the moment. Thank you, Muggle alcohol.

“Yeah, okay. That’s fine. See you in a minute.”

The mirror went blank. Sirius shrugged, finished his beer in one large gulp, and Apparated to Hogsmeade. He slightly miscalculated his landing point, ending up on the wrong end of the village. He made his way through the darkened streets to the Shrieking Shack as quickly as he could. James rounded a corner not far in front of him when he was about halfway there.

“Come on, Padfoot!” James called, waving Sirius to him. “What did you do, bloody fly here?”

Sirius chose to ignore that comment, quickening his pace. They reached the Shrieking Shack in silence, entering it through a gap they had once created, both in the physical structure of the house and the magical reinforcements placed on it.

When they were inside, Sirius turned to James. “What’s up, mate? You’re not looking too great.”

James sat down on a considerably gnawed-on chair. “You remember that time, down by the lake,” he began, “when you told me about your, um, your _feelings_.” Sirius nodded with an awkward grin. That conversation had involved a very frightened and young Sirius Black admitting to James that he was gay.

“Well,” James said, feeling just as awkward as Sirius looked. “Now it’s my turn.”

Sirius considered making a joke about how he was so honored James had finally decided to come out, but the look of fear and doubt on James’ face – which looked so familiar to how Sirius had felt that day near the lake – kept Sirius’ mouth shut. Instead, he nodded silently.

James stood from the chair. “It’s Lily,” he began, walking the length of the room before turning and coming back. His hands had flown to his hair, resuming their old habit of ruffling his hair. Sirius remained silent, giving James the space and time he needed to sort out his thoughts. “She’s – Merlin, Sirius – she’s bloody pregnant! And… and I’m fucking terrified.”

Still, Sirius said nothing. He had no idea what to say. He was… quite stunned, to be perfectly honest. That was not at all what he had been expecting to hear. He suddenly felt very, very sober.

James continued to pace the room, finally stopping in front of Sirius, with his hands still tangled in his hair. “I can’t do this, mate,” he said hurriedly, his voice higher than normal. “I’m – we’re only 19! We don’t know how to raise a kid! We haven’t even married yet. And this war! This stupid fucking war! This is no world to raise a child in!” He looked at Sirius desperately.

Sirius held him by the shoulders. “You’ve got no choice, Prongs,” he said firmly, looking straight into James’ terrified eyes. “You two will figure it all out, married or not. Who cares! It’s almost the 80’s! And eventually, the war will end, and your baby will know how brave his parents were to fight in it.” He released James’ shouldered and pulled him into a quick hug. “And you won’t be alone. You’ll always have me, and Uncle Remus and Uncle Peter around to help you. We’ll figure a way through this.”

James stepped back, nodding solemnly. “You’re right,” he said, “I know you’re right, but I’m still so scared.”

Sirius nodded understandingly. “How is Lily handling the news?” he asked.

“She’s alright. Frightened as well, I expect, but I think she’s feeling a lot more confident about the whole situation than I am.”

“How far along is she?”

James scrubbed a hand down his face. “Two months, I think. Somewhere between two and three months.”

“Well!” Sirius said, smiling at James reassuringly. “That gives us somewhere around seven months to figure the whole thing out!” He put an arm around James’ shoulder, turning him away from the room and out of the Shack. “We’ll help you through it, mate,” he said when they were out in the bitter winter air of Hogsmeade once more.

Again, James could only nod, though he couldn’t yet see how Sirius could be right.

“I get to be Godfather, right?” Sirius questioned suddenly, his face splitting open in a wild grin. James smiled weakly, only shrugging in response.

Sirius’ face turned incredulous. “What is that!? A  _shrug_!? It’s a yes or no, James Potter, and it had better be a yes!”

James laughed loudly, causing dogs from across the road to bark in response. “I suppose it depends on how helpful and mature you want to be about the situation,” James declared. “You’ve got some stiff competition, you know. Remus is awfully responsible, and we both know he’ll be Lily’s first choice.”

“I guess it’s a good thing Lily doesn’t get to choose the Godfather, then, isn’t it?”

James laughed again. “I’ll do my best to convincer her, mate, but it’s up to you to out-Moony Moony. Just… start acting more like him, and I’m sure everything will work out fine for you.”

“Thanks, mate,” Sirius said sarcastically, “I’ll definitely be able to do that. No problem at all.”

Together they trudged through Hogsmeade, eventually saying goodbye and parting. James Apparated home with a much lighter and more confident spirit. Sirius was right, of course. He and Lily could certainly handle this. They would just have to take it one day at a time. Together, they would figure it out.

Having rid himself of the initial shock and flight-response, James realized how incredible this felt. A father… he was going to be someone’s father. As frightening as that was, he was sure it would be his greatest and most enjoyable accomplishment.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Winter Wolfstar Wank on Tumblr.


End file.
